David Bercuson was born in Montreal in August 1945. He attended Sir George Williams University, graduating in June 1966 with Honours in History and winning the Lieutenant-Governor's Silver Medal for the highest standing in history. After graduation he pursued graduate studies at the University of Toronto, earning an MA in history in 1967 and a Ph.D. in 1971.
Dr. Bercuson has published in academic and popular publications on a wide range of topics specializing in modern Canadian politics, Canadian defence and foreign policy, and Canadian military history. He has written, coauthored, or edited over 30 popular and academic books and does regular commentary for television and radio. He has written for the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the Calgary Herald, the National Post and other newspapers.
In 1988, Bercuson was elected to the Royal Society of Canada and in May 1989, he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at The University of Calgary. In 1997 he was appointed Special Advisor to the Minister of National Defence on the Future of the Canadian Forces. He was a member of the Minister of National Defence’s Monitoring Committee from 1997 to 2003. Since January 1997 he has been the Director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary. He is also the President’s Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
Dr. Bercuson’s newest book is The Fighting Canadians: Our Regimental History from New France to Afghanistan, published by HarperCollins.
Dr. Bercuson is Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the 41 Combat Engineer Regiment, a Land Force Reserve military engineer unit of the Canadian Forces.
Dr. Bercuson served on the Advisory Council on National Security and is a member of the Board of Governors, RMC.
In 2002 Dr. Bercuson was awarded the J. B. Tyrrell Historical Medal from the Royal Society of Canada. In 2003, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He received the 2004 Vimy Award sponsored by the Conference of Defence Association Institute (CDAI) which recognizes Canadians who have made a significant and outstanding contribution to the defence and security of our nation and the preservation of our democratic values.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS BY DAVID BERCUSON
The Bloody History of Canadian ‘peacekeeping’
Canada’s Historical Search for Trade Markets
Face to Face: Should Canada’s military be restructured to increase its response to health crises and natural disasters?
